


Headache

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22865872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex gets a bad migraine on tour, and Jack helps him through it.
Kudos: 7





	Headache

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in the Don't Panic record cycle.

“Hey, he’s finally up! Welcome to the world again, Alex!” Rian exclaimed with a laugh as Alex slowly made his way into the front lounge of the tour bus.  
“Hey, keep it down,” Alex said in a pained voice. He cringed as he put a hand to his forehead and tightly shut his eyes.  
“Woah, are you okay, man?” Jack asked, sounding concerned.  
“I have one of the worst headaches I’ve ever had in my life,” Alex replied, still holding his head.  
“Well, are you just having a bad hangover, or do you think you’re actually sick?” Zack asked.  
“I only had a couple of drinks last night, so I think I can rule out having a hangover, but I don’t know if I’m sick. My head is killing me, and the pain is making me a bit nauseous, but I don’t feel sick aside from that,” Alex explained. Jack got up from where he was sitting to walk over to Alex and put a hand to his forehead.  
“Well, you don’t feel warm, so I guess you just have a migraine. Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?” Jack offered.  
“I think I just need to sleep it off. Well, I need to take some pain medicine, then try to sleep it off,” Alex said.  
“Are you sure? I know today is just a travel day, but I don’t want you to feel bad or anything,” Jack stated.  
“I’m sure, I just need some peace and quiet, but I appreciate the offer, Jack, thank you,” Alex replied with a small smile.  
“Let us know if you need anything,” Rian said.  
“Will do. I’ll be in my bunk, do you guys think you could keep it down, at least for a little bit?” Alex requested.  
“Absolutely, feel better, man,” Zack said with a sympathetic smile. Alex filled up a reusable bottle with water, then took a pain pill in hopes that it would make him feel at least a little bit better than he currently did.  
“I’ll see you guys later,” Alex said, walking over to his bunk. He carefully climbed into his bed, the throbbing in his head starting to make him feel lightheaded.   
Once he was in, he shut his privacy curtain to block out as much light as possible and shifted around some until he found a decently comfortable position. Since he still felt a bit sick to his stomach, Alex tried to sit up some, and propped his head up with a couple of extra pillows.   
After one last pain filled grimace, Alex shut his eyes and tried to ignore the pounding in his head as he slowly fell asleep.  
\-------------------  
“I wonder what’s wrong with Alex,” Zack said twenty minutes later, as he poured himself a bowl of cereal.  
“Me too, he seemed perfectly fine yesterday,” Rian added.  
“I’m not too surprised, he used to get migraines a lot on tour. Remember, when we toured on Nothing Personal, he got them all the time,” Jack pointed out.  
“That’s true, but weren’t those due to stress?” Rian questioned.   
“Oh yeah, that’s right, he had some family shit going on, and wasn’t getting enough sleep. Do you think that’s going on with him now? Stress about something and not enough sleep?” Zack asked.  
“I’m not sure, he hasn’t said anything about that, at least not to me,” Rian stated.  
“Same here. I think I’m going to go check on him. I’m not going to bother him if he’s asleep, but I just want to see how he’s doing,” Jack said, standing up. He quietly made his way to the bunk area but stopped in his tracks when he heard light sobs coming from Alex’s bunk.   
This concerned him even more, it took a lot to make Alex cry, at least when he was sober. Jack slowly pulled back a little bit of the privacy curtain, and saw Alex curled into himself, holding his head, and crying quietly, small tears falling from his eyes.  
“Holy shit, dude, are you okay?” Jack asked as softly as he could, not wanting to add to Alex’s headache.  
“It really hurts, Jack,” Alex replied in a weak voice. He kept his eyes shut tightly and slowly started to wipe away his tears.  
“It sounds like you’ve got a pretty bad migraine. Hey, I want to try to help you, I hate seeing you so miserable,” Jack decided.  
“I don’t want to inconvenience you or anything,” Alex replied, still wiping his eyes as more little tears continued to form in his eyes.  
“It wouldn’t be like that at all, man. Let’s go to the back lounge, I can’t really do much in this tiny area,” Jack instructed.  
“I don’t want to move,” Alex whined.  
“It’ll be worth it, I’ll help you out of bed and to the back, come on,” Jack tried.  
“Okay, fine,” Alex finally replied. Jack carefully helped Alex out of bed and to his feet before leading him out to the back lounge.  
“Okay, sit on the couch while I go grab a few things,” Jack said, walking back to the bunk area. He grabbed Alex’s water, blanket and a few pillows before walking back out to where Alex was.   
Alex was in the same place Jack left him in but was now hunched over with his head in his hands.  
“I brought some stuff from your bunk I thought you’d like to have. How’re you feeling?” Jack asked, sitting down next to Alex.  
“Well, my head is still killing me, but standing up and walking out here made me feel more nauseous,” Alex replied in a strained voice.  
“Do you think you’re going to throw up?” Jack asked, a sense of urgency in his voice.  
“I hope not, I know that’ll just make my head hurt more,” Alex replied.  
“Well, let’s try to make sure that you don’t, then,” Jack said. He stood up, and shut all of the blinds in the room, making it significantly darker.  
“Hopefully that’ll help some. Is there anything else that you can think of that I can do?” Jack asked.  
“I have some peppermint oil in the pocket of my bag in the junk bunk, it helps with this kind of shit. Do you think you could get it for me?” Alex requested.  
“Of course, I’ll be right back,” Jack replied. He got up and quickly walked over to the junk bunk that he shared with Alex. After digging through the side pocket, he finally found the little glass bottle of peppermint oil that Alex had been talking about.   
When he walked into the back lounge, he saw that Alex was now sitting up, his head leaned against the wall.  
“Here’s the oil, I don’t know what you want to do with it,” Jack said, handing the bottle to Alex.  
“Thanks man, I appreciate it,” Alex replied. He unscrewed the top, then put some of the oil on the insides of his wrists, then put his arms over his face to block out any light there could be, and to get the smell of the oil.  
“I’m sorry you’re feeling so bad, dude. I can’t remember the last time you had a migraine like this,” Jack said, taking a seat next to his friend.  
“Yeah, it’s certainly been a while. I forgot how awful these are,” Alex replied. The two of them sat in silence for the next ten minutes, knowing it would help Alex some.  
“So, the others and I were walking, the last time we can remember you having a bad migraine like this, you were super stressed out, and you weren’t sleeping enough. Are you feeling that way now?” Jack asked, clearly concerned for his friend. Alex took a deep breath before finally answering.  
“A bit, I guess. I know that I definitely haven’t been sleeping enough after shows lately,” Alex replied.  
“Is there something going on that’s been keeping you up at night?” Jack continued.  
“I don’t know why, but I keep getting super self-conscious about performing. Like, after a show, I’ll go on Twitter and see a bunch of videos from fans who were at the show of us performing, and I’ll just lay in my bunk and pick out all of the things I could’ve done better and stuff,” Alex explained.  
“Why, man? you’re a great performer! We’ve been a band for roughly ten years now, and you’ve only gotten better as time has gone on. What’s making you so insecure, man?” Jack asked.  
“This is going to sound really stupid, but our last album wasn’t received super well, which I know you know, and I guess that I just took that really personally. I’ve set a super high standard for myself, and not meeting it stresses me out, and makes me wonder if I’m really good enough to be doing this job, and it just sucks. I’ve gotten a couple other migraines this tour because of this, but nowhere near as the one I have now, which is why I even brought it up,” Alex said, sitting up some.  
“Shit dude, I wish you’d said something about this. I’m sorry you’ve been so fucked up because of this stuff. Seriously, you’re a fantastic performer, the three of us think so, and so do all of the fans. The three of us were bummed about the last album, too, but you’ve got to just live and learn sometimes. A lot of our fanbase actually seemed to like the album, it was just casual fans and reviewers who were so negative about it. Either way, we’ve just released one of the best albums of our career, actually, the best one of our career. Everyone loves it, playing all of the songs live from it is so much fun. You did most of the writing on those songs, and you did an exceptional job with them. I can understand the insecurity, it’s definitely a part of life for anyone in this industry, but don’t let it consume you like this. I hate seeing you so miserable, both mentally and physically,” Jack explained, putting an arm around Alex’s shoulders.  
“I appreciate you saying all of this. I know I shouldn’t think like I have been, but it can be hard not to sometimes. I’m glad I told you about this, though, it feels nice to get these thoughts somewhere else aside from my head,” Alex said, a small smile forming on his face.  
“You know I’m always here to listen and try to help. Speaking of your head, how’s it feeling?” Jack asked.  
“It still hurts, but it doesn’t feel as bad now,” Alex replied.  
“Good. Hey, do you want me to massage your temples for a bit? I know that’s helped you in the past with stuff like this,” Jack offered.  
“Would you? I’d really like that,” Alex replied. Jack scooted closer to Alex and slowly started to rub his friend’s temples. After about five minutes, Jack stopped.  
“Did that help?” Jack asked.  
“It did a little, just like it always has. Thanks for letting me rant, and for helping with my migraine, you always know what to do and say,” Alex said, making them both smile.  
“No problem. Is there anything else I can do for your head?” Jack offered.  
“I think I want to try to get some sleep now, since I’ll actually be able to sleep now that my head isn’t throbbing as badly. Can you, um, stay out here with me?” Alex awkwardly asked.  
“For sure, dude. Come over here, you can snuggle into me if that’ll help you to feel more comfortable,” Jack said, extending his arms for his friend. Alex grabbed his blanket and pillows, then snuggled into Jack.  
“Thanks for being the best friend ever,” Alex mumbled into his pillow.  
“Anytime, man. get some sleep and remember that you’re one of the best in the business, don’t doubt that,” Jack stated. Alex smiled as he shut his eyes, getting as comfortable as he could. Just minutes later, Alex was fast asleep, to Jack’s relief.   
When Alex woke up again, his headache was almost fully gone, and he was able to enjoy the rest of the travel day with his best friends.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a request for a friend on Tumblr!! I have a few more requests right now, so I'll be working on those and posting them within the next couple weeks!! All of the ideas are great, so I'm excited to get them written for you guys! Please send in requests if you have them, I love bringing your all's ideas to life! Thank you for reading, it really does mean a lot to me. Lots of love, Liv.


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